Belle Wong: writer, reader, creativity junkie

Tag Archives: Katherine Neville

It’s Sunday again – time most definitely has been flying by. I’m currently reading four books, but this week is a hectic week for me in terms of editorial deadlines, so I’m not sure how many of these I will be able to finish up and review by this time next Sunday.

But there’s just something so comforting about having such a lovely line-up of books in my Currently Reading pile.

I’ve been getting into the Christmas spirit with Rita Mae Brown’s Santa Claws. Mrs. Murphy and the gang are back at it again, and even though a murder isn’t the most Christmas-y of things, Santa Claws is shaping up to be a nice, cozy read. It’s definitely the kind of book you want to read with a mug of hot chocolate and mini marshmallows by your side. (Oh, wait a minute … I get that feeling with every book, actually.)

I haven’t gotten any further along on Katherine Neville’s The Fire, not because it’s not looking like it will be a good read, but because it’s one of those big, complex looking books that say to me, “I dare you to pick me up, start reading me and then put me down half an hour later because you’ve got work to do. Go on. I dare you.” Frankly, I’m a real wuss when it comes to such challenges; The Fire looks like it will be hard to put down once I get into it, and with so many deadlines coming at me, I’m scared to pick it up.

I know, kind of pathetic. What can I say? Books rule my life. And I’m woman enough to admit it.

Moving right along, I’ve also started Meg Cabot’s Big Boned. I love Cabot’s work, whether it’s her children’s books, YA novels or books for adults. In Big Boned, Heather Wells is back to solve another murder. I personally am reading this not for the whodunnit, but to see if Heather (a) will ever go back to singing superstardom again and (b) ends up with Cooper. Tad’s okay, but Cooper’s more than okay. Poor Tad.

Finally, I’m also reading Christopher Fowler’s White Corridor, another in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series featuring Bryant and May. I really like this duo, who are as quirky as you can get; sure they’re older, but that doesn’t get in the way of solving the crime, another locked room murder.

So that’s my reading week for the coming week. Now if I can only get some of these pesky deadlines finished up, it will be a very good reading week.

I am currently reading a fun stash of books right now, and the only reason why I haven’t finished any of them is because I haven’t had a good block of time to do so. I keep my “currently reading” books in different rooms of the house, and tend to just pick up whatever book is in the room I happen to be in. Of course, if I sit down with a nice chunk of time, I’m likely to finish whatever book it is, but this week has been hectic, unfortunately.

But I should be finishing up all three of the following books this week:

The Book of Lies, by Brad Meltzer. This one is stashed away in the living room, and it’s a pity each time I’ve picked it up I’ve had limited time, because this one has been a real page turner so far. I’m only in into the fourth chapter (or so) and each time I’ve had to put it down, it’s been extremely difficult doing so.

Casting Spells, by Barbara Bretton. So far this one is shaping up to be pretty good (although there’s a minor discrepancy near the start of the book that keeps bothering me – I’m hoping it will be explained away as I get further into the book). The book involves a quaint New England town which is home to many different magical people (werewolves, witches, vampires and fairies included), a murder, a sorceress’ daughter and a human cop. It’s been a nice read so far.

The Fire, by Katherine Neville. This is the sequel to Neville’s novel The Eight, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading several years ago. I’ve hardly had a chance to do much more than look at the cover of this one longingly and open it up to read the first few words, but I’m definitely looking forward to this one. If it’s anywhere near as good as The Eight, it’s going to be a wonderful read.

Sadly, I do have one current read that I just don’t see myself getting back to this week, not with this handful of exciting books calling to me. I am halfway through Princess Izzy and the E-Street Shuffle by Beverly Bartlett, but it’s “court biography” style, while interesting, hasn’t been interesting enough to get me to pick it up after having put it down. I do want to finish it, though, since I’d like to see what happens with Princess Izzy and the Springsteen loving mechanic in the States (and also, I’m reading this for the From the Stacks reading challenge); I’m just not sure exactly when I’ll be able to get back to it.

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I'm a writer, avid reader, artist-at-heart & book indexer. I blog about writing, books, art, creativity, spirituality, & the power of the imagination. Oh, and I like to write stuff about life in general, too!

"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot." - Stephen King

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The purpose of being a serious writer is not to express oneself, and it is not to make something beautiful, though one might do those things anyway. Those things are beside the point. The purpose of being a serious writer is to keep people from despair. If you keep that in mind always, the wish to make something beautiful or smart looks slight and vain in comparison. If people read your work and, as a result, choose life, then you are doing your job.

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